Sports Briefing

Published: March 15, 2007

SKIING

MANCUSO FALLS SHORT -- Julia Mancuso lost her nerve yesterday and with it valuable ground in her bid to become the first American woman to win the overall World Cup title in almost a quarter of a century.

Mancuso finished fifth in the downhill in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, failing to reach the podium for only the second time in the last seven downhill races. The result dropped her further behind Marlies Schild in the race for the overall crown. She also trails two other Austrians, Renate G?hl and Nicole Hosp.

G?hl, who had already locked up the downhill and super-G titles, kept alive a slim chance of adding the overall title by winning the downhill in 1 minute 22.73 seconds. Schild finished second for her best downhill result. Mancuso was 1.05 seconds off the winning pace, with Hosp behind her in sixth.

Schild leads the overall race with 1,382 points, 55 more than Hosp. G?hl overtook Mancuso and is third with 1,300 points. Mancuso is another 4 points back.

On the men's side, Norway's Aksel Lund Svindal overcame a half-hour interruption before his run to win in 1:18.97. The Olympic combined champion Ted Ligety, who had never before posted a top-30 finish in the downhill, finished fourth.

The race was interrupted for almost 30 minutes after Bruno Kernen of Switzerland, the 1997 downhill world champion, crashed coming off a jump and was airlifted from the course. France's Pierre-Emmanuel Dalcin also had a high-speed tumble, causing another delay.

Benjamin Raich of Austria finished 13th to retain his place at the top of the overall standings. Bode Miller, who was ninth, was knocked out of the chase for the overall title.

PRO FOOTBALL

N.F.L. CALLS FOR HEALTH STUDY -- The National Football League has commissioned a study of obesity and other factors on the cardiac health of its players, whose weights have soared over the past two decades. Dr. Andrew Lincoln, director of orthopedics and sports health research at MedStar Research Institute, said that N.F.L. medical officials, after initial research, asked him to run the study.

Lincoln said he would study 700 N.F.L. players from 12 teams, subjecting them to physical exams, echocardiograms, ultrasounds and even sleep studies to check for apnea. The data will be compared with that collected by the National Institutes of Health from a group of men the same age in the general population.

HARPER TO TITANS -- Cornerback Nick Harper is going from the Super Bowl champion Colts to a division rival, the Tennessee Titans. Harper, 32, agreed to a three-year deal with the Titans on Tuesday, the agent Ian Greengross said.

Harper spent the past six seasons with Indianapolis. He had 3 interceptions and 58 tackles last season as a starter. The signing could be in part because the future of Titans cornerback Pacman Jones is in question after a series of off-field run-ins.

SOCCER

ANOTHER TITLE FOR U.S. WOMEN -- The United States won the Algarve Cup for the fifth time, beating Denmark, 2-0, in yesterday's final in Vila Real De Santo Antonio, Portugal, on goals by Kristine Lilly and Carli Lloyd.

Lilly scored in the 12th minute from 24 yards for her 119th international goal.

Lloyd, a Delran, N.J., native who played soccer at Rutgers, scored from 30 yards in the 51st minute. It was her fourth goal in four games.